Pregnant Worker Protections Face Potential Rollback Under New EEOC Chair

Republican-led agency may narrow rules around reasonable accommodations for pregnant employees

Jan. 28, 2026 at 2:15pm

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The 2022 Pregnant Workers Fairness Act requires employers to reasonably accommodate pregnant workers, but the new Republican-appointed chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Andrea Lucas, has signaled plans to dramatically change the regulations in a more conservative direction. This could expose pregnant workers to increased discrimination and deny them financial remedies in court, experts warn. The article profiles two pregnant workers who faced challenges with their employers, Kennisha in Ohio and Willamina Barclay in New York, and the potential impact of the EEOC's policy shifts.

Why it matters

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act was intended to provide clear protections for pregnant employees, but the new EEOC leadership's plans to narrow the regulations could undermine those safeguards and make it harder for pregnant workers to get the accommodations they need. This raises concerns about increased pregnancy discrimination and the ability of workers to seek legal recourse.

The details

The 2022 Pregnant Workers Fairness Act requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnant workers, but the new Republican-appointed chair of the EEOC, Andrea Lucas, has signaled plans to dramatically change the regulations in a more conservative direction. Lucas has said the current rules were written too broadly and erroneously included protections related to the female reproductive system, which likely refers to issues like abortions and in vitro fertilization. While it's unclear if pregnancy accommodations will be directly targeted, any narrowing of the rules could expose pregnant workers to increased discrimination and deny them financial remedies in court.

  • In November 2024, Andrea Lucas became the new chair of the EEOC with a Republican majority on the commission.
  • In December 2024, Lucas told Reuters the EEOC would undergo a 'top-down makeover' to reflect a 'conservative view of civil rights'.
  • In fiscal year 2024, the EEOC received around 2,700 pregnancy-related complaints, the most recent data available.

The players

Andrea Lucas

The Republican chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) since November 2024, who has signaled plans to dramatically change the agency's regulations in a more conservative direction.

Kennisha

A former assistant manager at a Sonic fast-food outlet in Dayton, Ohio, who filed a complaint with the EEOC after allegedly being denied a request to sit down due to pregnancy-related nausea.

Willamina Barclay

A 38-year-old woman who worked at an Amazon warehouse in Rochester, New York, and filed an EEOC complaint after her requests for pregnancy accommodations were allegedly denied, leading to her termination.

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What they’re saying

“Protecting pregnant women and working families is a central pillar of the Trump Administration's common-sense civil rights agenda. Under my leadership, since January 2025, the agency has nearly doubled its lawsuits addressing pregnancy and postpartum discrimination and accommodation compared to all of 2024.”

— Andrea Lucas, EEOC Chair

“Efforts to weaken the PWFA's meaningful worker protections, which have been shown to reduce miscarriage rates by nearly 10 percent, are misguided. We should be standing up for women and families, not weakening their civil rights.”

— Kalpana Kotagal, EEOC Commissioner

What’s next

The EEOC has not yet issued its 2026 regulatory agenda, but workplace lawyers expect changes to the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act regulations under the new conservative leadership. The agency is also deciding whether to investigate Willamina Barclay's case and potentially take it to court, while the rules that could impact her case are being reconsidered.

The takeaway

The potential rollback of pregnancy accommodation protections under the new EEOC leadership raises serious concerns about the ability of pregnant workers to get the support they need and seek legal recourse if they face discrimination. This shift could have significant consequences for working women and families, underscoring the importance of vigilance in protecting hard-won civil rights.